Director Great Northwest Region two-year term, 2000-2002: David Patrick McDermott

David McDermott currently serves the J.R. Simplot Company Corporate Records Management Division as Corporate Archivist and Records Retention Analyst. He began his career with Southworth Stationers as Supply Person, Purchasing Agent, and Manager of Sales Floor and Contract Specifications for open office systems. He then launched his own business as owner/operator of the Brundage Office Supply company, then went to Boise Cascade Corporation Records Management as Records Analyst and Record Systems Analyst.

McDermott's RIM experience includes the following areas:

Record retrieval and searches

Litigation support

Legal research and retention scheduling

Records center design

RIM consulting on inactive record systems

RIM staff supervision

Record destruction system design

As the current Great Northwest Region Director, McDermott has presented new programs to his Region's chapters and kept them updated on all changes occurring at the International level.

Over and above his records management expertise, McDermott brings to ARMA an assortment of skills. For example, he has been a Master Diver Trainer for the past three years and a Scuba Instructor for over 13 years. "I highlight that background because it has provided me with the kind of training and leadership experience that can be valuable to any responsible position, including the Great Northwest Region Directorship." In addition to his contributions to ARMA, McDermott has also demonstrated his leadership ability by serving the:

Scuba Diving Company, Vice President/Secretary, Supervising Instructor

Professional Association of Dive Instructors

National Association of Underwater Instructors

Paint-the-Town community service project, Co-Chair

Boise Cascade Headquarters Volunteer Steering Committee

McDermott's academic, RIM, and management training background is equally broad.

Currently attending Boise State University, McDermott has participated in...

Six ARMA International Conferences

Three Region Conferences

Three Region Leadership Conferences

Four Boise Valley Spring Conferences

In-house workshops at Boise Cascade and Simplot

He has also completed Dale Carnegie's effective Speaking & Human Relations Training.

McDermott's current and previous ARMA positions/honors include:

Chapter

President, Boise Valley Chapter

Vice President

Member of the Board

Program Speaker

Member of the Year (twice)

Spring Seminar Chair

Region

Inland Empire Chapter Program Speaker

Columbia Basin Chapter Program Speaker

Puget Sound Chapter Program Speaker (twice)

Portland Chapter Program Speaker

Region Co-Chair for Seminar Speakers

Snake River Chapter Program Speaker

Region Spring Seminar Hospitality Chair

Association

Great Northwest Region Director since 1998

Committee Member, Financial Planning

Member, GRECO, 1996

Position Statement

1. What key strengths or skills do you possess that will make you an effective member of the Board of Directors?

I feel that I have quality listening and communication skills. I also am a hands-on leader, but don't believe in micro managing. I will, however, step into the middle of a dispute and speak plainly to all parties when the situation requires it of me. This type of leadership is important for ARMA to succeed in the direction it is moving. I also feel it is important to be visible and available to the membership of the organization and region, and I have done that as the current Great Northwest Region Director. Most importantly, I have the ability to remove personalities out of the decision-making process both at the Regional level and at the International level.

2. What do you see as ARMA International's future roles and responsibilities in light of changes in the workplace and less time for volunteering?

ARMA International will have to continue moving toward a staff-driven association, while keeping operating costs at a minimum. It is becoming very apparent that many companies are removing association and education dollars away from their employees; therefore, fiscal responsibility as an absolute must. Our membership service department will also have to continue to improve in chapter support and communication to our membership. It is up to the Board of Directors to ensure that we maintain a solid business and budget plan to ensure the success of our association. This, of course, must be done through policy guidance, not micro management.

3. The image of Records and Information Management (RIM) continues to change. How or what would you do to elevate the RIM profession?

It is imperative that we continue to elevate and sell our profession to upper management. To do this we have to be pro-active in all segments of Records Management, including, working and reasoning (there are shades of gray between black and white) with our Information Services departments, Legal departments, and executive level management. For RIM personnel, we should take every opportunity possible to get involved with new technology, seek education where needed, and not just sit back and be content with managing hard-copy records. On the management side, I feel that our employers need to know that our profession involves more than going to the shelf and getting a box. It is no longer just about Records Management, but rather about Knowledge Management and the opportunity to show that records are assets and the life-blood of our organizations.

4. If you are elected to the Board of Directors, on what two areas will you focus, and why?

First, I am very committed to ensuring that our association is being fiscally responsible to its members. As a general member and then Chapter officer in the Boise Valley Chapter, I exhorted our Chapter to treat our often, lean treasury with care. Before that, with my background of owning a business, making sure that we budgeted and spent money for the improvement of the business was very important to me. I see ARMA International as being no different. As a Board Member, I have been looking at ARMA no differently than owning and operating a business, and guaranteeing that our shareholders (members) receive the best return on their investment. Herein lies my main reason for becoming a current member of the Financial Planning Committee.

Second, I will continue to work toward a more unified region for the Great Northwest Region. I feel that with the creation of the Region Coordinator Position this goal is attainable. However, the success of the Coordinator program will still have to have solid support from the Region Director and our Association. It is my goal to ensure the success of this program because it has great merit.

5. ARMA is going through significant changes. What are your thoughts on these changes, and what other changes would you like to see evolve?

As mentioned, ARMA is going through significant change. Many of these changes have not yet occurred, but will transpire in the near future. It is the responsibility of the elected officials of ARMA International to ensure that these changes are implemented, and are done so as seamlessly as possible. The shift to a staff-driven association, Region Coordinators and Directors at large should improve ARMAs ability to stay in touch with its membership. This in itself is not enough to keep our association at the top. If we are to stay a leader in the Records and Information Management field, ARMA must continue looking at better ways to do business, and keep listening to our members needs. One area I think we should look into is offering the executives in our companies seminars on RIM related issues. We should also consider publishing executive fliers that are short and sweet, but yet informative concerning records management trends. I feel we often overlook the people who are making the decisions and these are the people that will eventually be the ones that elevate or reduce the records management functions in our companies.

Three Issues ARMA Is Facing

Issue 1: Education

ARMA has always been the leader in RIM education. Continuing to educate our membership and their employers is critical to the success of the association both at the chapter level and at the International level. In today's competitive world, there are many organizations putting together educational seminars for the record management professional. As more and more of these groups vie for our educational dollars, it becomes critical that ARMA stay at the front of the education race. ARMA International will have to continue moving forward with their educational development, including creating programs for both the newcomer and the seasoned professional.

There are many challenges in deciding what type of educational programs our members are looking for. Even though our Annual Conference is considered to be one of the best educational opportunities offered, we must continue looking at distance learning, video conferencing, and Internet education. We must also be able to assist our local chapters with canned, easily assessable programs. None of these options come without a cost. It is the responsibility of the Association leaders to ensure that we provide these programs at the lowest possible cost to our membership. This does not mean we should lower the quality and expectations of those programs, but rather, it simply means that the leadership needs to stay involved with the membership to know what is wanted.

In addition ARMA needs to expand educational opportunities, such as ISG midyear seminars, region conferences, and local chapter programs. Our local chapters should consider sharing speakers and their expenses when putting together their programs. And finally, we not only need to offer RIM education, we need to expand into professional growth areas such as management skills, technology education, and access to more CRM and ICRM workshops and general information.

Issue 2: Communication

The backbone of any association is the membership base. The members of our association number approximately 10,000. It is our responsibility as elected officials of this organization to keep those members apprised of any and all changes that occur in our association. ARMA has taken several steps in the past year to improve the delivery of that communication. Some of the changes have included; InfoPro, the Internet, and of course the Friday mailing that is e-mailed to our chapter leaders.

ARMA International Membership Services Department is doing a better job of communicating to the chapter leaders; however, many of our members continue to feel left out of the loop. The new Regional Coordinator program should help the communication effort; however, we need to keep in mind that communication is a twoway street. The member of this association need to feel comfortable in contacting our leadership when there is a concern, whether at their local level or at the association level. Therefore, our leaders need to make themselves more visible and available to the members.

Although ARMA has improved communications with our members in the past year, we can not sit back and hope that it simply continues. We need to continue looking for better ways to get the word out to our membership, this means staying on the cutting edge, not bleeding edge of technology, and always looking for better more cost-effective ways of communicating.

Issue 3: Restructuring of ARMA

International

ARMA international is in the process of making several changes in its organizational structure. Many of the more visible changes have occurred at the regional level. These changes include the realignment and re-naming of regions; adding Regional Coordinators; establishing three-year, onetime term for directors starting July 1, 2000; and transitioning to Directors "at large" beginning in July 2001. Not only are changes occurring at the regional level, ARMA Headquarters is going through several changes also, most notable is the movement to a staff-driven association and less involvement from volunteers. The reasoning behind the changes is simple, we must continue to meet the needs and expectations of our membership. These changes did not happen overnight, nor did they occur just for the sake of change.

I believe the implementation of these changes are critical to the success of our association. It is the responsibility of our elected officials to ensure a smooth transition into the Regional Coordinator Program, plus to identify and fix any bugs that occur before the implementation of the Directors "at large" in 2001. Finally, when it comes to such a significant change as is being publicized, a key issue remains the guarantee that two-way communication with the membership all over the world will be open and members will continue to have representation at the International level, regardless of their location.

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